With the departure of first-round draft choice Deandre Baker to the New York Giants, Georgia will be seeking another shutdown corner for this season.
According to the folks at Pro Football Focus, the Dawgs have one in redshirt sophomore Eric Stokes. PFF released a graph showing that the the former Eastside High (Covington, Ga) speedster was one of the most efficient and effective returning coverage players in the conference. Stokes ranked second in the SEC in average yards allowed per coverage snap, a slim margin behind the Crimson Tide’ Shyheim Carter.
Stokes allowed 0.54 yards per coverage snap last season, only .02 of a yard behind Carter. After starting four games last season opposite Baker, Stokes confidence grew with each game and he finished the season with 20 tackles, a tackle for a loss, nine pass breakups and a blocked punt.
True freshman Tyson Campbell started the first 10 games of the season but struggled as teams avoided Baker’s side of the field. The 6’1″, 185 pounds Stokes stepped in and seized the moment.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart has been impressed with Stokes’ work ethic and the way he absorbs information. After the G Day game, in which Stokes intercepted a Jake Fromm slant pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown, Smart offered these comments.
“He’s done a good job,” Smart said. “I’ve thought all the DBs have done a good job improving. Sometimes we weigh them on top, sometimes we weigh them on the low side….it just depends on what the coverage is and what the help is. He certainly made a good play to start it off today. I thought that was a good fight for the ball, scoring when he got it. That’s a kid who has come a long way that really wasn’t a DB coming out of high school, he was just an athlete. He’s very conscientious to doing things the right way. When you teach Stokes something, he listens and he applies it. When you combine that ability, you’ve got a pretty good player.”
Expect Stokes and Campbell to be fixtures at the corner spots next season. They’ll be competing with a deep field of quality corners, including senior Tyrique McGhee, junior Mark Webb, redshirt freshman Divaad Wilson, Juco transfer DJ Daniel and five-star incoming freshman Tyrique Stevenson.
